12 Brilliant Interior Design Ideas from Sarah Richardson

Canada-based interior designer and TV personality Sarah Richardson has been a favorite creative dynamo of Hello Lovely’s audience for many years for good reason. Today we’ll explore 12 Brilliant Interior Design Ideas from Sarah Richardson.

Yes, she seems Canada nice. But more importantly, she designs intelligently. Though she mixes in vintage and flea market finds, her classic interiors don’t ever feel less than elegant. I have been taking notes for many years now…who remembers a very young and single Sarah decorating apartments on a shoestring on TV? Just listening to her calm voice demystifying interiors was a comfort.

On a personal note, I am feeling very grateful for the American men and women who serve our country and for those who lost their lives while serving. My heart aches for the families who are missing sons, daughters, fathers, and grandfathers around the table. How I wish we didn’t need them to be so brave. I wish they didn’t need to be so strong and so willing to sacrifice. I wish we could all grow in wisdom and evolve in our consciousness faster. This speech has some meaningful thoughts if you have a moment to listen:

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THANK YOU, AMERICAN MILITARY FOR ALL OF YOUR TIME, TALENTS, AND BRAVERY.

Brilliant Interior Design Ideas from Sarah Richardson

1. Old World Lighting.

Moravian star pendant lights in a hallway with design by Sarah Richardson.

Sarah Richardson loves using these Moravian star pendant lights as evidenced above and below. (And isn’t this bold blue vintage sliding door to the laundry room in Sarah Richardson’s off-the-grid Ontario home charming? Photos: Stacey Brandford. The dramatic French inspired chandelier in her off the grid house adds a beautiful sculptural silhouette to be enjoyed on the first and second floors.

What an amazing vintage door for this laundry room!

Here’s the exact French Country chandelier, and below it is a much more friendly priced beauty.

2. Layer shades of red.

12 Brilliant Interior Design Ideas from Sarah Richardson

I personally have a difficult time living with red, but Sarah is masterful with it. She doesn’t just incorporate pops of a single shade, she mixes burnt orange, pumpkin spice, crimson, garnet, etc. In this farmhouse living room, you can see what I mean with all the delicious reds living harmoniously together.

The unicorn crest above the fireplace is a treasured find for Sarah!

You might think a white linen sofa would be easy to find in the marketplace, but I have never found that to be the case!! Here’s a pretty one.

3. Whispery Color.

12 Brilliant Interior Design Ideas from Sarah Richardson.

Sarah Richardson’s tranquil farmhouse living room features a cozy area with subdued wingback chairs, a rattan side table, and a contemporary leather ottoman. The palette is hushed appropriately for this intimate conversational area. While the architecture and lines lean toward traditional style, modern details like nailhead trim and the patchwork construction feel fresh.

Wingback chairs and a leather ottoman in Sarah’s off the grid living room.

Check out the EXACT leather ottoman!

4. Reflective Gold Hardware.

Love the idea of a bar cart in the bath…how about you?

In this Victorian-era bathroom below, beadboard on the walls, classic millwork, and vintage-style brass bathroom fixtures combine with brilliant design from Sarah for the tile. A mosaic above the chair rail looks classic yet a bit unexpected, and the marble shelf is both functional and beautiful for holding luxurious bath items and decor.

Brass accents in a classic bathroom.

5. Not Your Granny’s Country Style.

Sarah’s kitchen with light grey and warm golds.

Sarah Richardson’s own kitchen in her off-the-grid house is brimming with fresh ideas on her vision of modern country style. Most of us imagining a country kitchen with a wood stove would not envision the elegant decor and finishes we see here. There’s no giant harvest table, no rustic farmhouse signs, no vintage corbels or antique plates on the wall. Instead, she has surprised us with sleek custom brass accent panels, a refined breakfast dining area with modern upholstered dining chairs. Even the color palette feels more cool and Paris chic than say bluegrass lovely (there isn’t even a rug in the space…though there is a “stone rug” between the island and range wall).

Brass panels accent the island and above the range hood.

6. Allow Vintage Doors to Steal the Show.

The door color: Tidewater by Sherwin Williams.

For long-time Sarah Richardson fans like me, we recall vividly watching Sarah design this farmhouse with its charming entry/mudroom on her HGTV show. On the show, we were taken along on her flea market jaunts to source the home decor and furniture, and it was such a learning experience, wasn’t it? The rosy red of these doors on twin closets, the nook for the cupboard, and that vivid striped rug surely make this one of the most re-pinned Sarah Richardson design moments in history. What a welcoming entry! The alder doors in my own home aren’t vintage but are suggestive of age.

More vintage doors in an entry mudroom!

7. Rugged Tables + Airy Chairs.

Love the full height windows!

These airy open weave rattan high back dining chairs(below) in Sarah Richardson’s own dining room, adjacent to the living room add a a rustic yet light layer of casual comfort to this room’s design in her off-the-grid Ontario home. Pssst. Find the exact light fixture in that post too! Where you might expect to see Windsor style dining chairs or even upholstered Parsons chairs for softness, Sarah has chosen a handsome natural option which you might expect to see on a covered porch or in a beach house. For me, they say “vacation!” which is a lovely invitation to elevate both the everyday and special dinners shared with family and friends.

Sarah Richardson’s dining room in her off the grid modern farmhouse.

8. Sarah’s Favorite Tranquil Hues.

You’ll notice Sarah Richardson loves incorporating her favorite blues and greens into her projects, sometimes boldly like in her modern farmhouse’s mud room…

Bold blue in Sarah’s off the grid house mud room.

…and other times quietly like in this cottage style bathroom with gorgeous mosaic tile.

An unforgettable cottage style bathroom by Sarah Richardson

9. Tranquil Bedrooms.

Classic bedroom by Sarah Richardson.

Sarah Richardson knows her way around fabric prints, and she mixes them with bold genius. While we often see other designers do this adeptly with bold color, you don’t often see quieter, subdued, and more neutral shades mixed as we see here in Sarah’s serene blue-grey master bedroom with European inspired furnishings and home decor. Quiet color need not be bland and snoozy (although what’s so wrong with snoozy in a bedroom!?!) if your personal style is on the more dynamic end of the spectrum.

Blue-grey in the master bedroom of Sarah’s off the grid Ontario farmhouse.

10. Play Up Texture on Walls.

Black, white, and shiplap for a classic laundry and mudroom.

Whether it’s adding shiplap to a hardworking laundry/mudroom or wallpapering a public space like this entry in Sarah’s own family home, she repeatedly demonstrates how to create interest where there was none. The subtle wallcovering below adds an ethereal elegance that feels modern with the more traditional wood flooring and shiplap walls. Sarah Richardson has also not played it safe in her mixing of blues as you’ll spy navy, slate, and turquoise in close proximity to one another. In most cases, homeowners do not seem to feel that same freedom to mix rather than match, and yet for an evolved over time look, it’s exercising such freedom to get a winning look.

Sarah Richardson’s off the grid modern farmhouse in Ontario.

11. Beachy Can Be Peachy.

Beachy cottage style by Sarah.

Hello Lovely readers went nuts and Pin-crazy back in 2010 when I shared Sarah Richardson’s cottage with this little kitchen done in Sarah’s favorite blue-green palette. The waterfront property surely inspired all the watery colors and aqua accents like the marble mosaic backsplash. You may remember Sarah whitewashed all the knotty paneling which she inherited with the property. The pastels in this cottage style kitchen, dining area, and living room made a huge splash with lovers of vintage style and shabby chic!

The sweetest little aqua cottage kitchen.

12. Encourage Intimacy.

Modern country kitchen with an alternative to recessed lights.

Sarah Richardson consistently places comfy armchairs in pairs, at the ready for face to face conversations. This creates an altogether different effect than tucking a single upholstered chair in a nook with a task lamp for reading. In the kitchen above, there are two little stools rather than just one…a small detail perhaps, but it suggests togetherness. Maybe you see a simple conversational area with a killer view through the window in the image below. What I see in this furniture arrangement is intentional space made for relationship, intimacy, and lovely discussions. Designer Pam Pierce masterfully creates such arrangements .

Seating area in Sarah Richardson’s master bedroom.

Here’s another example of creating intimacy…

Still so classic – this beachy cottage from years back is a study in blue and white.

Enjoy a few more Sarah Richardson designs, and meet me at the finish line.

Sarah incorporated a vintage piece with new cabinetry in her dining room.

Lots of stars repeated throughout Sarah’s modern farmhouse.

A light-filled laundry room which doubles as an office space.

Classic white bathroom with brass hardware.

Hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend and finding plenty of time to slow down and recharge the batteries. I have been a busy bee in the kitchen today, preparing lots of yummy snacks for a party tomorrow night. I hope to share pictures of the shindig with you if I have a chance to snap any! How are you spending the weekend?

Peace to you right where you are.

~michele

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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12 Comments

Marilyn S.

May 27, 2018 / 6:31 am

Your post never disappoint -I can linger and learn . Since you are soooooo good at spotting and identifying detail can you tell what the labels on the tops of those lovely Tidewater blue doors are ( they look like those brass label holders you would find on an old desk ) …. I’m intrigued .

I love it when you linger here!! Yours is a keen eye for lovely detail! I too wonder about those labels. I am guessing you are right. That they are vintage finds Sarah collected and used to label each daughter’s closet/cubby door. 🙂

Thank you for the moving video by President Reagan. How soon we forget those gone much to soon fighting for our freedom. Indeed they were boys who gave their life so that we could have the many privileges we share today. May God forgive us for failing them.

Thank you for reading and for the reminder. When we reflect on the reality of WHO the brave are, there is a shift, yes? These are our dear boys and girls we ask to be courageous. As a mother of two sons, it pulls at my heart. xox